Mosaic hoping air permit will allow operations to resume by truck

Photo by Zack Ponce - Current-Argus
Mosaic only ships about 5 to 10 percent of the potash it produces by truck, but the company is working with the state of New Mexico to obtain a temporary permit to allow them to ship more potash on the roads.

CARLSBAD >> The Mosaic Company is hoping a temporary air pollution permit may allow it to resume some of the operations halted when a warehouse collapsed last week.

The Canadian company is working with the state of New Mexico to acquire the temporary permit, according to state officials.

Meanwhile, Mosaic still isn't sure why the warehouse collapsed on May 5, trapping a worker inside for a few hours. No injuries were reported from the incident.

Mosaic ships between 90 and 95 percent of the potash it mines and produces near Carlsbad by rail, while the rest is shipped by truck. The impact of the building collapse on business remains unclear, according to company spokeswoman Sarah Fedorchuk.

New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ryan Flynn said Mosaic is doing everything in its power to get back up and running as quickly as possible, and Mosaic officials have met with the state twice since last week to secure the temporary permit that would allow the company to ship additional potash via truck.

"The company has been very proactive and they're trying to make sure they work within the regulatory process," Flynn said.

According to Flynn, the new vehicle traffic would create additional particulate emissions that Mosaic is not currently permitted to emit.

The warehouse, a steel structure built in 1939, was the location where Mosaic readies mined potash for shipment to market. It also housed a large quantity of its premium product.

Advertisement

Investigators have yet to determine a cause for the structural failure, according to Fedorchuk.

"We are still investigating and assessing damage while keeping the safety of our employees top of mind," Fedorchuk said in an email. "We are currently looking at a variety of scenarios in order to get our product to market."

Mosaic employes around 600 people and operates three warehouses near Carlsbad. Workers were able to return to work at Mosaic on May 7. They were assigned to other duties on site and have continued to work regularly scheduled shifts according to Fedorchuk.